A Choice
by ispksarcasm
Summary: Trying on wedding dresses just got that much harder. J/S Slightly AU, Sam didn't give Pete the ring back just yet.


**Title**

Rated:K+

Category: Romance/Angst

Season: Post 8. Pre 9.

Spoilers: Threads

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summary: Trying on wedding dresses just got that much harder. J/S Slightly AU, Sam didn't give Pete the ring back just yet.

Note: REVIEWS MAKE MY DAY. PLEASE MAKE MY DAY.

* * *

"What are we doing here?" he asked for what seemed like the millionith time since they entered the tiny shop just off the highway.

Daniel sighed, "Because Sam needs someone to tell her how she looks in a wedding dress." Teal'c merely inclined his head as the doctor spoke, silently adding his opinion.

"Yes, that part I understand. But why _us_?" he asked gesturing between the three of them, "Why not some girl friends?" Jack asked, he had already seen her in three wedding dresses and to be honest... he was breaking. He couldn't stop the jealous surge he felt every second she wore those dresses in his presence and he didn't like it.

"I don't know Jack, Sam asked us to come. So we came."

"Well why isn't her _fiancee _here?" he asked saying the word fiancee with a tone of disgust that didn't go unnoticed by the other two.

"Because one, he can't see the dress and two he's at his bachelor party," Daniel said.

Sam walked out then and the two stopped bickering then and looked at the sight in front of them.

And what a sight it was... "What do ya think?" she asked the three men, looking down self conciously as they gaped.

"Wow," Daniel said, "You look..." his eyes scanned down her body. 'Damn,' he thought, he may think of her only as a sister, but that didn't mean he was blind. His eyes flitted back up to her face and he smiled, "You look beautiful, Sam."

Her face lit up, "Really?" she asked like a nieve child in need of reassurance.

"You do indeed look quite lovely Colonel Carter," Teal'c said with a warm tone.

"Thanks Teal'c," she looked at her reflection in the mirror and spun around inspecting herself, the sleeveless dress clung to her upper body and then flowed out at her waist with a ruffled effect at the hem. The fabric at her chest had sequence clinging to it making her sparkle as she moved around in the light. Jack stood off quietly, not saying anything. He thought Daniel and Teal'c were wrong. She wasn't beautiful, no, not even close, she was drop-dead gorgeous. He stood there trying as he might to fight back insane amounts of jealousy that he wasn't the one out having his bachelor party right now. That he wasn't the one who was going to stand at the other end of the ailse when she finally used this dress. That he wasn't the one who called call her _his. _He wanted to be the one to go over and kiss just because he felt like it, to be the one who tells her she looks beautiful, to be the one she loves.

"What do you think Sir?" she said, turning to him with an unknowingly sexy smile on her face.

"Um... It's a nice dress, Carter," he said tightly, without really looking at her.

Her grin faded slightly to a tight smile and she nodded, "Okay," she said with a falsely cheery voice, turning back to Daniel and Teal'c who were glaring at Jack, "I'm going to get this one then, I guess. I'll just go... change," she said motioning to the dressing rooms behind her.

"Okay..." Daniel said as they watched her walk away. He waited until he heard the dressing room door click before he started, "What the _hell_ was that?" he asked, annoyance obvious in his voice.

"What the hell was what Daniel?" Jack replied in the same tone.

"You know what!" he said, "Why do you hate being here so much? Give me one good reason why this is so awful and you can go!"

"Well for one, every person in this place thinks we're gay," Jack said pulling the first excuse he could think of out his hat, his voice rising as he spoke. Daniel glanced around and noticed a few people staring at them, eh that was probably true, but he didn't care, he was here for Sam and Jack should be too.

"Suck up your pride O'Neill, thats not a good reason," Daniel said his voice rising as well.

"I have better things to do than to sit around in a shop watching Carter play dress up!" he practically shouted.

"What's wrong with you? Don't you care about Sam at all?" Daniel shouted back. That was it, the proverbial straw, Jack's anger visibly flared as color heated his face, his fists clenched tightly and he looked like he was about to hurt someone... and that someone would be Daniel.

"I do believe you should lower your voices so as not to attract attention," Teal'c attempted to intervene but Jack was too far gone.

"You want a reason, I'll give you a reason," he said taking a step towards Daniel, his voice cold and full of venom, "How about that everytime Carter walks out here it reminds me painfully about the fact that on the day that she walks down the ailse it's not going to be me on the end waiting for her. That instead of me it's going to be some guy who she's decided she loves. Because no matter how much I wanted to tell her not to do this, to scream at her that I love her, she said yes to him anyway and theres not a damn thing I can do about it. You think I didn't think she looked gorgeous in that dress, that I didn't have time to notice how amazing she looked, I may be dumb but I'm not blind. And so I'm doing my best here Daniel, I'm trying to be a good friend, I'm trying to pretend like this isn't killing me, but tell me Daniel if it were Sha're in there and she was going off with some other man wouldn't you be doing the same thing?"

"Um... I..." Daniel stuttered, his eyes wide. Whatever he had been expecting that hadn't been it.

"Thought so," Jack said bitterly. He looked around, taking stock of all the people staring at him and not caring. He looked back at Daniel, pinning him with an intense gaze,"If Carter asks where I went... make up something," he said unable to think of a good excuse. He turned and left the small shop, letting the door slam behind him, and leaving a baffled Daniel and a stoically surprised Teal'c in his wake.

* * *

Sam shook as the door slammed and she leaned against the wall of the changing room, 'Did he really say all that? Did he really love her?' she thought to herself. She felt tears sting in her eyes as she pulled her jeans back on.

What was she going to do now? She thought about everything that Jack had just said, not thinking she could hear him and then looked at the dress.

She had a choice. She had to choose, right now, between them. If she went with Pete she was going to lose Jack, and if she wanted to get Jack she first had to leave Pete. She closed her eyes, why was everythin so difficult. As she pulled her shirt back over her head she took one last glance at the frock and made up her mind, "Guess it'll have to wait," she mumbled towards the silk and lace dress.

* * *

Jack stormed across the parking lot to his car, still shaking with anger and frustration, he reached his truck and pulled out his keys. Why was his vision all blurry? Was he... crying? No, Jack O'Neill didn't cry. Then again, Jack O'Neill didn't have near violent outbursts about... feelings. Dammit, Carter was screwing with his mind. He closed his eyes and felt the wetness disappear as he tried to calm himself. He put one arm against the trucks hood and rested his head against it, deep breaths, happy thoughts, calm down.

* * *

She pulled open the door to the dressing room and looked at Daniel and Teal'c who still looked stricken, "Uh..." Daniel started looking to Teal'c for help.

"I'm going after him," she said running out the door, not bothering to stop and explain that she had heard it all.

She ran across the small parking lot as fast as she could to reach him before he was able to get away, "WAIT!" she screamed as he fumbled with the keys to open his truck. He looked up, shocked to see her coming across the lot and wondering if he was imagining it.

"CARTER?" he called as she got closer, he waited until she came to a panting stop in front of him, "Carter, go back with Daniel and Teal'c and get your dress. Um... Walter called, said there was some emergency involving... plants so I was just going to um... fix that," he said pulling a random and admittedly flimsy excuse out of his hat.

"That's an awful cover Sir," she said as her breathing evened out.

"Now what makes you say it's a cov..." she cut him off, putting her finger to his lips.

"Shut up" she ordered and he raised his eyebrows she opened her mouth to speak but paused, looking at him then at the ground she mumbled, "I heard what you said back there."

She felt his sharp intake of breath, and saw the moment of panic in his eyes, "What? How?"

"You weren't exactly quiet," she said with a slight smile, she met his eyes and her smile faded as she thought of what to say, "I... Sir... Jack," she mumbled looking back at the ground.

He looked at her questioningly, "Carter?" he asked around her finger, she removed the finger from his lips and tried to ignore the way she felt her skin tingle where they had touched.

"If I had to choose... between you and... him," she started looking down at the ground, "I would choose you. Everytime," she said looking up at him as she spoke. "It's always been you," she whispered.

He closed his eyes, "Sam..." he started about to tell her to go back into the shop and leave him to be miserable by himself. Why was she telling him this anyways? They couldn't be together, the regs made that much clear and she had_ chosen_ Pete, not him.

"Jack, I said shut up," he opened his eyes again to look down at her she slowly began, "If there was no Pete... if there were no more regs... would you want me?"

His eyes searched her face, "Of course I would want you Sam," he said in a don't be stupid tone of voice, "but there _are_ the regs and there is... _Pete_," he said, spitting the name.

She closed her eyes for a moment and he could practically hear her thinking, "I'll resign and put in for a civilian position. And Pete... I'll work it out," she said.

His eyebrows knitted together, was she actually saying this? Was she leaving Pete for him? Could this actually be happening? "No you won't," he said and she looked at him with hurt and shock, "First I won't let you resign, if anything_ I _would resign and... I want you to be happy Carter! I was putting myself out of the picture so you could go on and be happy... And I was doing so. damn. well. until you walked out in that dress..." He said moving his hands around as he spoke.

"Jack, you make me happy," she said cutting him off, "I have a choice, and I... I choose you," but when their eyes met she knew he still didn't believe her, "Do you remember what you said to me? When my father was dying?" she asked him grabbing his hands in hers.

He looked down at their hands and then back at her, "Always," he whispered, twisting their hands and interlocking their fingers.

"Always," she repeated, she looked up at him, meeting his eyes, "Always," she said again, standing on her tiptoes and kissing him. Their lips moved together like that was all they were made to do, she released his hands and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer, tasting his breath on her tongue. She felt... happy, truly happy, for the first time in a while. Or at least she was, until he pulled away suddenly.

"Sam... we can't do this," he breathed.

"Yes we can," she said defiantly kissing him again.

"But what about..." he said as he pulled away for breath.

"We'll work it out later Jack," she said pressing against him again.

"Okay," he whispered against her lips and she smiled as she continued to kiss him.

When they finally broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers, "You sure about this?" he said.

"Yes," she said resolutely.

He smiled a shaky smile, "Good."

And as she looked into his eyes, she knew she had made the right choice. The choice she would be happy with for the rest of her life.

"We should probably go back and tell Daniel and Teal'c," Sam whispered.

He looked at her, "Yeah, sure, I got time," he said and she laughed as they walked back to the small shop.

Daniel and Teal'c looked up when the two walked in and stared at their intertwined hands and smiling faces. "Hold on one sec," Sam said, releasing Jack's hand and running to the dressing room.

"So what happened exactly?" Daniel asked scratching his head like a confused child.

"I'm not exactly sure, but Sam isn't getting married anymore and I'm resigning," he said.

Daniel raised his eyebrows, "Okay then," he said. Letting the shock settle in and once he did he smiled a brilliant smile. He caught on pretty fast, though slower than Teal'c who seemed to have grasped the concept almost immeadiately.

Sam ran back in carrying the dress, she handed it to the sales lady and said, "Thanks but I won't be needing this."

The sales woman seemed stunned, to say the least. Sam ran back over to Jack and intertwined their fingers again and the two went to the door happily. "You guys coming?" Jack called back to the other two.

"Uh... Yeah," Daniel said, "Just a sec," they gathered up all their stuff and Teal'c went to leave but Daniel turned back, "You might wanna put this one on hold," Daniel said to the sales lady. He glanced at the couple already playfully bickering in the parking lot, "I have a feeling she'll be needing it pretty soon."


End file.
